OldSch88L

Gonna go try, be right back, I'll also snap a couple pictures

Yes it does!

I got the black with white tracer, and pink or faded red, and I got nothing on the C331 terminal

Gave it another go today; seems I did it wrong the first time The real culprit is in the startiing circuit, the starter relay always stay energized for some reason, Even with the ignition switch unplugged, I still get a 0.34 amp, 0.5 volt draw. As soon as I unplug the small pinkish-red wire from the relay, the multimeter drops to zero. So my question is: does the relay normally activate with constant power and grounding it, or the opposite, constantly grounded and activating when receiving power from the positive terminal?

You'll only need to connect the reverse light switch, the rest doesn't matter. Sir Sam just reminded me that I also had to buy a custom clutch line and adapter to mate the TJ external slave with the MJ stock clutch master. I bought it from Advance Adapters IIRC. The yoke from the 2wd shaft won't work; different, type, diameter and spline count. You'll have to get the right yoke depending on what year 242 you have since some had an internal type slip yoke, and others had an external type. For speedo gears, the long shaft ones are for cable drive speedos, and short shaft for electronic.

Talk about a weird life for a Comanche!!!!

You won't get access from the inside where that is located, so a unispotter with a slide hammer is your best bet like the others said. As you pull the studs, tap around them while keeping tension on the stud to realease the stress once in a while. Don't try to make it 100% factory perfect cause you can't, unless you're a seasoned body guy that knows how tu use shrinking hammers! That dent streched the metal, so you'll never get it perfectly flat since you now have excess metal, unless you shrink it like I said. Think of sheetmetal as pizza dough; you start with a ball, and the more you hit it, the more it expands... If you want to make it smaller, you have to fold it onto itself. Just sharing tips of the trade ;) As for stud welders or "unispotters", you can get he cheap nowadays on amazon. On the other hand, since you're not keeping it, my opinion would be to leave it as is, so the buyer knows exactly what he's getting, and leave him deal with the repairs since he'll probably get it painted to match his truck anyways.

While on the subject, I'm pretty sure all the Comanche specific parts are discotinued, but is the trans tunnel the same as an XJ? If so, are reproductions available? All I can find is XJ floor pan sections

I'm very partial to Magnaflow!!! The 2.5L 4 banger in my Ford Ranger is the worst sounding 4 cylinder I've ever heard, I've put a magnaflow on it and I just love it!!! Not loud, just a bit more noticeable than stock, and a deep smooth tone! That's saying a lot since that engine sounds rough and raspy with pretty much all the other mufflers I've seen!

Side note, I got lucky while doing my Dana 44 swap... I was in a pinch because I forgot to order u-bolts; turns out the u-bolts from my 1998 Ranger 2wd (with a Ford 7.5 diff) are exactly the same! ;)

You didn't specify if your Comanche is a 2.5 or 4.0, but I went with a TJ AX-5 (from a 2.5L TJ) for my 2.5 Comanche. Like the others said, it clocks the t-case higher and hit my floor so I drilled new holes clocking it down about 10 degrees. If I recall correctly, the TJ tranny came with its trans mount still attached and bolted perfectly on the Comanche crossmember. I used a '96 242 t-case, and in my case (no pun intended) I had to switch the input shaft for a 21 spline (if you have an ax-15 you'll be golden since it's got a 23 spline output, and 90% of all the 242s have a 23 spline input) and like others have said, the 2wd transmission yoke won't work. Also if you can, try finding a 1992 or older 242 if my memory serves me well... On my '96 242, the 4x4 position switch is on top, and is so close to the floor that I can't put the connector on; I had to modify the switch. Older 242s had the switch on the back of the case. That was pretty much it!

Nope just came back from checking, and they work like they should

Yes, truck starts and shuts off fine, but if I leave the battery connected, it's getting pretty weak at the end oof the week

Hey guys, I have a slight parasitic draw on my 1988 Comanche 2.5L 5-speed. Did a little testing, and the only amp draw change I get is when I pull out the ETR fuse, which I guess it's normal since it runs the clock and radio memory, and the major one is the TRANS fuse, which stays pretty warm even though the ignition is off. That fuse seem to control only the backup lamps circuit in the case of a 5-speed, and should be hot only in ACC or RUN, via the ignition switch according to the diagram. So my question is: what would you advise next? Go test the ignition switch and wiring in the steering column? I always disconnect my negative terminal when I park it for the night, but when I connect it back on, the big metal relay next to the battery clicks on; is that normal?

Yes exactly; the 4 cylinder tach signal is 2/3rd that of the 6 cylinder, so it is 1/3 slower, or at least should be... But weirdly, it seems pretty accurate in my case!

Yes I did take the deluxe ('96) cluster appart to adjust it, but like I said, the tach had no adjustment screw whatsoever :S

I just completed my cluster swap from stock dummy lights cluster on my 1988 renix 2.5, to a full gauge cluster from a '95 or '96 Cherokee. XJs are getting pretty rare where I live so the full electronic cluster is pretty much the only deluxe cluster I could find at the junkyard. I cross-referenced wiring diagrams for both and swaped in the '96 connector, converted to VSS speedo by making and wiring my own harness, and swaped the oil pressure and water temp sensors. Everything works fine except gas gauge works backwards, which was expected. Every post I read about cluster swaps say that the 4.0 tach should read slower in my case at 2/3rds. Thing is, it seems somewhat accurate, idle being around 1000 rpm, and the rest of the time it seems to match the engine"s speed pretty well by ear... I checked and the tach in that particular cluster didn't have any adjustment screw on it. And I'm pretty sure it came from a 4.0 Cherokee because it was a pretty well equiped model. Anybody has a theory?

Sun visor clips... Found 2 different models from Jeep XJs and still won't fit my MJ sun visors. Geez, how many variations do you need for such a stupid part??? Opening vent windows if the metal bits aren't rotten, especially the lock handle "button"... Chevy handles will work but are a bit different and expensive IMO. Early 242 transfer cases with the 4x4 switch on the back; I have a 96 case with the switch on top, and it hits my 4x4 shifter. Front tow hooks for sure. All metal trim pieces that are in good shape: grille, windshield and windows. Good condition remote side mirrors. Select trac shifter bezel 1996 and down, really hard to find. And last but not least, factory emblems and nameplates.

What kind of problems are you having?

1988 Comanche Unknown lift kit, 31'x10.50' tires, Dana 44 rear swap from Metric Ton package, 4x4 converstion with NP242 transfer case, 4.56 gears, instrument cluster swap. Holes in the bed hints that it had the Sportsbar at one point, Otherwise, ; little else is known about the truck.

Ok, time for some tricks! I refurbished my Alcoas for my Ranger a while back. They were machined finish and had the clear flaking off and a bit of corrosion on the lip. And I also wanted the polished look. Started with 80 grit for the rough parts, 220 for the rest working my way up to 3000, ending with a buff and Mother's aluminum polish. Clear won"t work on such a smooth surface; after some research, I found a great product: Alumaclear. It's what truckers use to protect polished aluminum parts on their rig. Lasts 1-2 years and can easily be stripped off with acetone or mineral sipirts (can't remember which) to then be reapplied. It's been pretty much 2 years now, just starting to get a little bit of a dull, but no chipping of flaking otherwise. Downside is that it's not as self-leveling as automotive paint, so you'll end up with orange peel unless you practice your application a bit. Other bummer is price (60$ for a can IIRC) but worth every penny in my opinion. A can is just enough for 2 coats on 4 wheels. Pics are before and after, the after doesn't have the alumaclear yet:

Hello all, just thought I'd share this little tip with you guys so you don't have to go through the same ordeal as I did, if you ever install new gears. I bought mine from Rockauto, they are Dana SVL series. I had a " + .10" on my new gears, so I figured I needed to remove 10 thou from the nominal pinion depth... Wrong!!!! After a lot of research, turns out there is also metric markings, and apparrently, the SVL series gears are made in India instead of America, which may explain the metric markings instead of the classic ones. Here's a PDF from Dana-Spicer for gear installation, which includes both classic and metric marking charts. Hope it helps, cheers!!!! https://media.spicerparts.com/cfs/files/media/Duf3YfPMNKrnBzQpp/axsm-0053.pdf?store=original

Nah! Went back to look at it, and I only got a bill, no spec sheet Thanks to everyone for the help!!!

Hey guys! My Comanche is finally on the road after finishing up the 4x4 swap, so today I went to get an alignment done since everything was out of whack. Thing is, at city speeds, it wanders even though it's aligned, and no play anywere in the suspension. The mechanic said he could not get the caster in the ballpark probably because it's lifted. Problem is, I have no idea what height lift I have since I bought the truck like that, and the previous owner can't remember either... Looks at least 3", with stock UCAs, but the lowers look aftermarket since they're tubular and not stamped steel, and have a kink in them. What would be best to correct he geometry? The truck used to be 2wd, and included is a photo as it is with the lift, and for reference, it sits on 31's. Thanks a lot!!!

Hey guys, question for those of you who did the 4x4 conversion on their 2.5L 2wd Comanche... Pretty much done, ordered an Azzy's design works t-case linkage since I had none, and it doesn't work. From their pictures, the 4x4 shifter should be ahead of the mode selector lever, but in my case, it's pretty much right over it. I guess because of the 4 banger, the transmission sits too much forward. I'm trying to figure some sort of linkage out, but it's a real head scratcher! Any of you dealt with this before?